An accomplished, young pitching coach, Jim Belanger is entering his fifth season at Maryland and his third as associate head coach. Belanger was named to the Terrapin coaching staff on August 13, 2012.

Belanger developed one of the best starting rotations in the country in 2016, with junior Mike Shawaryn and sophomores Taylor Bloom and Brian Shaffer all enjoying great seasons. The trio combined for 20 wins, with 11 complete games and 232 strikeouts to 48 walks.

The 2016 Maryland staff finished ninth in the country in walks allowed per nine innings (2.59) and 17th in WHIP (1.22).

Shawaryn finished his junior season as the Maryland record holder in career wins (30), career innings pitched (307.1) and career strikeouts (307). In 2016, his 99.1 IP was the fifth most in school history while his 97 strikeouts was sixth in a single season. In the Big Ten Tournament, Shawaryn broke a TD Ameritrade Park record with 16 strikeouts, the most by a Maryland pitcher in a single game since 2004, against Indiana and was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Shawaryn was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 29.

Bloom and Shaffer were both named to the All-Big Ten third team after fantastic sophomore seasons. Bloom finished his season 60 strikeouts to just nine walks with a 2.46 ERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.67) and walk allowed per nine innings (0.79) were tops in the Big Ten. He finished the season with 102.1 IP, the fourth-most in a single season in school history, including five complete games, the most in the Big Ten.

Shaffer also captured a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor during his breakout sophomore campaign where he won eight games, the third most in a single season in school history. He also tossed the third-most innings in school history (103.2) and opponents batted just .209 against him. He was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team after a complete game two-hit shutout against Indiana.

Belanger also helped bring in Maryland’s top-20 recruiting class, including freshman Hunter Parsons, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and finished with a 3.50 ERA and a .201 batting average against.

In 2015, Belanger tutored sophomore Mike Shawaryn, who enjoyed the best season by a pitcher in Maryland history. Shawaryn was named a first-team All-American by the NCWBA, Perfect Game and Lousiville Slugger after winning single school record 13 games with a 1.71 ERA and a single season school record 138 strikeouts. Shawaryn’s win total ranked first in the Big Ten and second nationally while his strikeout mark was also tops in the conference and fifth-best in the nation.

Shawaryn’s honors also included four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week nods along with one National Pitcher of the Week honor from the NCBWA.

Shawaryn became just the second player in school history to participate in a USA Baseball National Team when the sophomore accepted an invitation to join the Collegiate National Team. Shawaryn threw 10 and 1/3 inning for the Stars and St

The rest of Belanger’s staff was just as prolific in the strikeout department. The Terps lead the Big Ten in Ks with 549, also a school record, and ranked 15th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (8.5). Maryland’s team ERA of 3.32 was good enough for fourth in the Big Ten and the squad’s opposing batting average was .236, which ranked second in the Big Ten. The staff helped the Terps capture their second straight NCAA Regional title with a school record 42 wins.

Under Belanger, junior Kevin Mooney solidified himself as the best closer in program history finishing with a record 33 saves. Mooney was particularly impressive down the stretch, closing all three of the Terps’ wins in the Big Ten Tournament and Maryland’s Regional clinching game over top overall seed UCLA. The Maryland native finished the season with 11 saves, the third-best mark in the Big Ten. Opponents batted just .154 against the right hander.

Belanger also helped Ryan Selmer emerge into a force in his redshirt freshman season. Selmer notched a 2.18 ERA and tied a school record for appearances with 31. Eight of Maryland’s nine returning hurlers lowered their ERAs from the 2014 season, including junior Robert Galligan (2.74), junior Alex Robinson (1.63), junior Zach Morris (2.61) and Mooney (1.89). Robinson was especially impressive, holding opposing hitters to a .136 average.

Belanger’s work with the Terps also paid dividends in the MLB Draft. The Minnesota Twins drafted Robinson in the fifth round. Junior Jake Drossner was taken in the 10th round, a 13-round jump from his high school position, while Mooney (15th round) and Morris (23rd round) were also selected.

In 2014, Belanger mentored a staff that ranked 12th nationally in strikeouts per game (8.1) and totaled a school-record 500 strikeouts to help lead Maryland to its first 40-win season in school history and a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals. The Terrapin pitching staff, headlined by ACC strikeout leader Jake Stinnett and freshman All-American Mike Shawaryn, also posted the fifth-lowest opponent batting average in the ACC (.238).

Belanger was instrumental in the development of Stinnett and Shawaryn. Stinnett, who had not pitched an entire season as a starter until 2014, led the ACC and ranked fifth nationally in strikeouts with 132, a Maryland single-season record, and ranked first in the conference in complete games (4) and innings pitched (118.0) en route to All-ACC and ABCA All-Region honors significantly improving his draft stock.

Stinnett jumped 27 rounds from the previous year and was selected in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. It is the second straight year Belanger and Maryland have had a pitcher selected within the first six rounds of the MLB First-Year Player Draft after Jimmy Reed was taken in the sixth round of the 2013 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Under Belanger, Shawaryn became one of the best freshmen pitchers in the country. Serving as Maryland’s Saturday starter from the beginning of the season, Shawaryn totaled 11 wins, which led the ACC and set a Maryland single-season record. Following an impressive debut campaign, Shawaryn, along with second baseman Brandon Lowe, became the first Maryland player to earn All-America honors since 2002. Shawaryn was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, NCBWA and Perfect Game.

While the front end of the pitching staff garnered a lot of attention, Belanger guided a back end that also left its mark in the Maryland record book. For the second straight season, Kevin Mooney served as the closer and tied a Maryland single-season record racking up 13 saves. In addition, lefty Ben Brewster posted a team-low .151 opponent batting average out of the pen and was selected in the 15th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

In 2013, his first season in College Park, Belanger guided a pitching staff that featured two of the top-15 pitchers in the ACC in Reed and Stinnett. In addition, Belanger developed Mooney into one of the top closers in the conference. Mooney finished the season tied for fourth in the ACC in saves with nine, the highest total ever by a Maryland freshman and the second-highest single-season total in school history.

Under Belanger’s tutelage, Reed solidified himself as one of the conference’s premier pitchers. An All-ACC selection, Reed ranked seventh in the conference in ERA (2.33) and was one of only five ACC pitchers to throw two or more complete games in conference action. After an outstanding senior campaign, Reed was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Belanger also oversaw the emergence of Stinnett. After beginning the year as the Terps’ closer, Stinnett transitioned to the weekend rotation and totaled six quality starts in his final seven appearances including a complete-game performance at Duke (4/28/13). Stinnett ranked 13th in the ACC with a 2.83 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .204 average, which tied for the fourth-best mark in the ACC. Stinnett was a 29th-round selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2013 MLB Draft.

Including Mooney, Belanger molded a pitching staff that featured six true freshmen with Brandon Casas, Jake Drossner, Jared Price and Alex Robinson all playing prominent roles throughout the season. Mooney, Price and Casas ranked first, second and third on the team, respectively, in appearances, while Robinson ranked third on the team in strikeouts and fourth in innings pitched. Drossner made six starts, the fourth-most on the squad.

Belanger arrived in College Park after four seasons at Monmouth University where he oversaw the development of Pat Light, who was named New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) Pitcher of the Year and drafted 37th overall in the MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

In 2011, Belanger developed a staff which helped lead the Hawks to 36 regular season wins and the 2011 Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title. The pitching staff posted a 3.34 ERA, which ranked 36th nationally and first in the NEC. In over 460 innings pitched, the staff allowed a league-low 462 hits, 216 runs, and 132 walks while recording a conference-high 322 strikeouts.

Under Belanger's tutelage, Nick Meyers earned 2011 NEC Pitcher of the Year honors, and Andrew McGee was named to the 2011 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team and was honored as the NEC Relief Pitcher of the Year.

A native of North Babylon, N.Y., Belanger began his coaching career at the University of Louisville in 2009 as an undergraduate assistant coach. Belanger helped Louisville win the Big East regular season and tournament championships as the Cardinals hosted a NCAA regional for the first time in school history.

During the summer of the 2008, Belanger helped coach the Bayside Yankees Senior American Baseball Club. The Bayside Yankees finished with a team ERA of 3.41 on its way to the National Amateur Baseball Federation National Championship.

A two-year letterwinner at Louisville, Belanger was a member of a Cardinals' starting rotation in 2007 and 2008. After helping the Cardinals advance to the 2007 College World Series, Belanger helped the squad win the Big East title and a spot in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

While at Louisville, Belanger appeared in 33 games for the Cardinals and started 17. In 98-2/3 innings, Belanger posted a 5.29 ERA while striking out 63. In 2007, Belanger posted a 3.94 ERA in 59-1/3 innings and held opponents to a .248 batting average.

In two seasons at Cecil Community College in North East, Md., Belanger compiled a 17-4 record with a 2.90 ERA and 108 strikeouts.

Belanger holds an associate degree in general education from Cecil Community College and a bachelor of science in sociology from Louisville.